MedChi will support and promote the Maryland Hospital Association’s (MHA) Kid Safe program. MHA announced that Maryland’s hospitals are partnering with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and state Delegate Craig Zucker (D-District 14) to encourage parents and guardians of minors to place security freezes on their children’s credit reports.

Domestic violence touches the lives of Americans of all ages, leaving a devastating impact on women, men, and children. In October, MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society observes Domestic Violence Awareness Month in hopes of helping victims through their pain and moving forward in the fight to stop violence before it begins.

In 1998, the Maryland Heath Care Coalition Against Domestic Violence was formed with the mission of educating both health care professionals and the public about the health consequences of domestic violence. Operating entirely through grant funding, for nearly fifteen years, the Maryland Heath Care Coalition Against Domestic Violence has been providing educational opportunities about family violence to Maryland’s health care professionals. MedChi, along with the Center For a Healthy Maryland, has supported the Maryland Health Care Coalition Against Domestic Violence since its founding.

Every year the Maryland Heath Care Coalition Against Domestic Violence holds a program on Intimate Partner Violence. This years’ program is on Thursday, November 5 at 9:30 a.m. and will be held at the MedChi building, 1211 Cathedral Street, Baltimore 21201. Andrea C. Gielen, ScD, ScM, Professor and Director at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of Johns Hopkins will be this years’ speaker. For more information please visit www.medchi.org.

Dr. Brooke Buckley, President of MedChi, states “victims of violence often suffer in silence, not knowing where to turn, with little or no guidance and support. Sadly, this does not just affect adults. Even when children are not directly injured by violence, exposure to violence in the home can contribute to behavioral, social, and emotional problems. This is why MedChi wants to bring attention to this important issue.”

The Physicians Foundation has awarded the Center for a Healthy Maryland, Inc., an affiliate of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, a two-year grant for the implementation of a Certificate Program in Physician Leadership. This project will expand the Maryland Physician Leadership Institute, developed under a previous Physician Foundation Leadership Innovation Grant, by creating a Certificate Program in Physician Leadership and offering the program both online and in diverse Maryland geographic areas. It is anticipated that this program will empower and encourage leadership – to equip physicians with critical information in the era of health reform, and help them understand why their leadership is critical to the healthcare delivery system, the future of Medicine, and ultimately, to the health of their patients. The program will consist of distinct topics, rolled out in a series of online presentations, followed by a live, interactive session in each of four regions of the state.

“This is an important initiative to help Maryland physicians cultivate valuable leadership skills,” said Walker Ray, MD, President, The Physicians Foundation. “We are pleased to fund and support the Center for a Healthy Maryland and the great work that will emanate from this grant.”

May 26, 2015

A new CDC-sponsored continuing education program is available to provide guidance and tools for clinicians on the optimal ways to implement screening for colorectal cancer to help ensure that patients receive maximum benefit.

The Importance of Physician Leadership in Health Care Reform

The Physicians Foundation awarded the Center for a Healthy Maryland, Inc., an affiliate of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, a grant in the amount of $75,000 for the establishment of the Physician Leadership Institute at the Center for a Healthy Maryland. This innovative project created resources and educational programming to identify, train, and cultivate physician leaders for organized medicine and encourage leadership in external organizations which are active in transforming healthcare.

You will appreciate her unique perspective on the physician mindset and the opportunities for leadership in this new era of health care reform. To view the one hour lecture entitled, “Leadership in Health Care Change: Why Physicians?” which was presented at the Physician Leadership Summit at MedChi in Baltimore on November 2, 2014, follow THIS LINK.

Please select “Show More” to see course objectives, disclosures, CME designation statement and evaluation form. CME credits have been awarded for this activity.

Public Health Alert – October 7, 2014

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) continues to work with other U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other domestic and international partners in an international response to the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The attached document https://images.magnetmail.net/images/clients/MDStateMed/attach/141007CDC_Ebola_Key_Messages.pdf summarizes key messages about the outbreak and the response. It will be updated as new information becomes available and distributed regularly. Please share this document with others as appropriate.

Webinar Recording Available on Ebola Preparedness for U.S. Health Care System

A recording of a recent webinar http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/responders/Pages/ebola-healthcare-webinar.aspx hosted by ASPR and CDC on Ebola Preparedness for the U.S. health care system is now available for viewing. The webinar focused on the Detailed Hospital Checklist for Ebola Preparedness http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/hospital-checklist-ebola-preparedness.pdf , which highlights the activities that all hospitals can take to prepare for the possibility of a patient exposed to Ebola arriving for medical care. This information is especially useful for hospital emergency managers, infection control officers, hospital leadership, and clinical staff. The checklist provides practical and specific suggestions to ensure hospitals can detect possible Ebola cases, protect their employees, and respond appropriately.

Stanley R. Platman, M.D. (1934-2014)

Stanley R. Platman, M.D. who served as the Medical Director for The Center for a Healthy Maryland’s Physician Health Program for more than 25 years, died on May 7, 2014 after heart surgery.

Dr. Platman was born in London and lived there through World War II, including the Blitz of London. After the war, he matriculated at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, earning his degree in medicine. After medical school Dr. Platman spent time in Haifa, Israel where he conducted research on thyroid disease. He then entered the Colonial Service and served in Swaziland, practicing medicine in the African bush.

He then had the opportunity to become involved in psychiatry training at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he lived for several years until he was asked to leave the country by the Apartheid Government. He would eventually return to conduct reviews of the South African Mental Health System for the World Health Organization. After leaving South Africa, he returned to London and completed his first graduate degree in the membership of the Royal College of Physicians in Internal Medicine.

He moved to the United States in 1963 and did research at Columbia University, eventually taking the directorship of the Metabolic Unit, conducting a major research project in bipolar illness. Dr. Platman was then recruited to conduct research and establish a new hospital in Brooklyn, NY as part of the NY State Department of Mental Health.

In addition to being a researcher and internist, in 1971 he took and passed his boards in psychiatry. A year later he became the director of Buffalo General Hospital Community Mental Health Center, in Buffalo, NY. He would eventually be offered the position of Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Mental Health.

At the same time he was offered the job of Assistant Secretary of Maryland for Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Addictions. He and his wife Vera, moved to Baltimore where he became assumed the assistant secretary position, a post he held until 1984. He also held a position at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and was a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland.

When he left the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, he became chief of psychiatry and medical director at the old North Charles Hospital in Charles Village and was the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Wyman Park Hospital. When those institutions closed he established a practice at Union Memorial Hospital.

In September 1989, Dr. Platman was appointed, Chair of the Maryland Physician Health Committee, by then MedChi President Raymond Atkins, MD. He eventually was chosen as the first Medical Director of the Maryland Physician Health Program.

Over the last twenty-five years Dr. Platman served as a steward of the Maryland Physician Health Program and helped countless fellow physicians during that time. Dr. Platman believed that the ability of physicians to get the help they needed in a confidential manner was essential to the process and of enormous import to medicine in general. He lived by his convictions and was a power of example throughout his life.

On Sunday, September 21, 2014 the Center for a Healthy Maryland will be hosting a fundraiser in conjunction with the Black Olive Restaurant, whose owner, Stelios Spilladis, is a close friend of Dr. and Mrs. Platman. Funds raised will be used to make improvements, including handicapped access to the Maryland Physician Health Program building and offices. The improved building will be named in honor of Dr. Stanley Platman. For more information on the Celebration, please click here.

To make a contribution in memory of Dr. Platman, please click here, and specify “In Memory of Dr. Platman.” For more information on the event or making a donation, please contact Meg Fairfax Fielding, Director of Development at the Center for a Healthy Maryland.